From reality TV battles of survival to exotic travels

It should come as no surprise that former reality TV star John 'Horse' McLeod travels light - and to exotic locations.

After all, the retired bricklayer was a sergeant major in the SAS and once went missing in action from his duties as a New Plymouth councillor so he could take up a private security contract in Libya.

Now in his early 70s, the moustachioed winner of the strategy-driven reality TV programme Treasure Island Extreme has been visiting bucket-list destinations as part of a well-earned retirement.

But you won't find McLeod on any Caribbean cruise or supping riesling in the Rhine Valley.

No, his travel diaries are more in keeping with a man once invited to show celebrity chef Michael Van De Elzen how to cook up a culinary treat from basic military rations and what he could forage in the bush.

Think of former Soviet republics Uzbekistan, Georgia, Turkestan and you'd be on the right track.

"I'm doing what I want to do with my life now. I've served my country, I've served my community, and now it's time for me and my family. And I spend a lot of time with my children and grandchildren now, but I do do one of my favourite loves, which is travelling.

"And every year I've gone out anywhere from eight months to three months and I just travel. I've always been an adventurer and a traveller all my life. So, yeah, it's something I love doing."

McLeod travels with partner Susie Rosser, but neither of them threatens the 30kg bag limit.

"I've always a been lightweight traveller. I travel with a small bag. Carry on luggage, 7kg only, and Sue travels with 7kg too.

"Everything we have in our bags is multipurpose. Even our bags you can turn it into a backpack or just a carry on bag. Our clothes too. Say our pants, we wear cargo-type pants with zip knees, so you can take the leggings off and then, well, you've got shorts."

McLeod says travelling light is in his DNA.

"Yes, part of it is to do with my military background. You pack very minimalistic, if you like, and only take what you need, because when you're in different country and need something, you can buy it, and it's generally cheaper than what it is at home."

A favourite recent destination has been Uzbekistan in Central Asia, famed for its mosques, mausoleums and sites linked to the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China and the West.

"The government there is trying to to promote tourism and it's an excellent country to go to. The people are friendly, there's not a lot of tourists and it's like dropping back centuries."

McLeod and Rosser travelled the country from top to bottom and a highlight for them was the Registan, a plaza bordered by ornate, mosaic-covered religious schools dating to the 15th and 17th centuries, in the city of Samarkand

"It's their place of learning and its got these three sort of temple-type buildings covered in brilliant tile work in gold and pastel blues and that. And you can go inside those and the brilliant colours and the architecture, and that blows you away."

McLeod says in the evening the plaza is lit up.

"They put on a multicoloured light show and play Arabic-type music. And it's brilliant to sit there, have an ice cream and watch it."

The couple used local drivers to get around once paying US$100 to travel 400km to visit a part of the Aral Sea in North Western Uzbekistan which has dried up following the damming of rivers in the Soviet era.

"There used to be a lot of fishing in that area and whole communities were lost, and when you go there now, you see these old, wrecked fishing trawlers lying in the middle of the desert, and there's quite a few of them."

McLeod booked all his accommodation online and that strategy has only let him down once.

"When we rocked up in, I think it was Lithuania, in the capital, and the cab pulled up outside the accommodation and it was an art gallery not a hotel. We found that It was a bit of a hoax type thing."

The couple made alternative arrangements and got a refund from their online booking agent pretty much instantaneously.

McLeod said in terms of safety his trained military eye helps avoid potential trouble.

"People are a little bit weary of me in that regard, because of the way I look and the way I act. So, I've never had any real major issues in regards to safety."

A veteran of the 1970s "hippie trail" McLeod travelled overland to London via Southeast Asian and Central Asia as a young man and his experiences then have influenced his travel choices today.

While not adverse to traditional more comfortable destinations, other recent travel choices include Georgia, Armenia, Romania and Albania.

"The Armenians call themselves the 'people of Noah', because even though it isn't in the country anymore, Mount Ararat, is where Noah's Ark, of course, is presumed to have it settled."

The modern Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey but biblical scholars suggest the original text referred to the entire mountain range, known as Urartu in ancient times which straddles Armenia, Turkey and Iran.

In Armenia the couple visited the Monastery of Geghard, a World Heritage site featuring remarkable medieval rock-cut churches and tombs.

"There was a tunnel, and we had to use our phones as torches to go down. And we dropped into this big dome room that was half carved into the mountain, and the only light that was coming from a hole in the ceiling.

"And in there were four women dressed in purple robes with long black hair, and they started doing Gregorian chants. And it was so surreal. We just came across it by accident, and they were not of this earth, the acoustics were something else."

In Georgia, McLeod had one destination on his wish list.

"I visited the home of Joseph Stalin because that's where he was originally from, when it was part of the Soviet Union, and visited his house and museum. Susie didn't find that so interesting, but I really wanted to see it."

A Romanian highlight was the Merry Cemetery of Săpânța renowned for 800 hand-carved oak wood crosses, each painted in a specific bright blue colour known as "Săpânța Blue" depicting a scene from the deceased person's life, profession, or even the way they died.

"I loved seeing those and, of course, going into where Dracula was born, in the middle of Romania."

While Albania's beaches got the thumbs up.

The Albanian coastline is absolutely brilliant. White sand, blue water, and next to nobody there."

After the more adventurous elements of a trip are concluded McLeod factors in some down time often at one of his favourite spots, Corfu.

"But on Corfu, we don't stay in the main town. We go down the coastline and to a little fishing village, and we'll stay there for a week or so and just chill out on the beach because we've got a lot of friends there now, and they've known us for years in that village

"So we just chill out there and relax. We've been there about five or six times now, and Susie loves the place anyway."

McLeod's tips for older people thinking on undertaking this style of travel include having a reasonable standard of fitness, travel on the shoulder seasons to avoid extreme heat and crowds, employ local drivers, book mid-range hotels and be sure to see the recommended sights "because you never know when you'll be back".

Next on McLeod's bucket list are Kyrgyzstan, Turkestan and a return to Morocco.

"Those two I haven't been to, and one of my favourite countries is Morocco, I love Morocco. It's a cross between East and West."